February 12, 2019

How to Have a Romantic Night In

There are so many reasons to celebrate your special occasion at home instead of out on the town. Whether you want to save money, are too tired to deal with going out, or are looking for total privacy to get the romance rolling, these tips will take your date night in to the next level.

Food

Instead of ordering in or making one of the usual meals in your dinner rotation, take it up a notch by making a truly special dinner. Date Night In by Ashley Rodriquez changed our celebration at home dinner game. The meals take more time but she gives you all the tips on how to do a little prep here and there during the days prior in order to cut down prep time day of. There are two ways of tackling this kind of menu- either you both take part in the meal prep and make an activity out of it or if you struggle to play nice while working in the kitchen (I’m often guilty of this), one of you can work on the drinks. Which brings me to my next point.

Drinks

Take those drinks up a notch! Whether that means splurging for high end alcohol, buying real champagne, or just making a more complicated drink than you normally would on a typical tired Friday night- you decide. Date Night In has some cocktails paired with some meals but not all so you could get inspiration there ore elsewhere. We love to experiment with infused simple syrups and classic/vintage cocktail recipes. My husband gifted me this incredible cocktail book- The Joy of Mixology a few years ago, and it’s truly been the gift that keeps on giving. He loves reading about the history of different drinks and shaking them up for us to try out.

Music

Record players are back in style and frankly, in my house- thanks to my Memphis man, they never went out of fashion. Putting a record on and slow dancing in the living room is next level sexy. If you are music lovers, you will appreciate the crackly, raw sound that only comes from records. Look for Nat King Cole or Eta James records if they aren’t in your collection yet to up the romance.

Ambiance

This is key! If it’s a winter month and you have a fire place, make sure it’s roaring. Light candles. Lots of them. If it’s summer, take it outside to the patio, put on the string lights and/or candles. Light greatly effects our mood and state of mind. Think of how you feel under fluorescent lights at work or when the overhead light is glaring straight in your eyes. Obnoxious right? The dancing colors of orange, yellow, blue, and red of the flames soothe our tired minds and help us to relax and feel calm.

Get Physical

Okay, so this is probably assumed, but I want to tell you one of my favorite bedroom secret weapons (eh, tools?). Coconut oil. It’s 100% true that coconut oil can be used for anything. It makes an excellent lubricant and is totally natural. Do you even know what sort of nasty stuff is in most commercial lubes? Not to mention you probably have coconut oil hanging out in the kitchen, so you don’t even have to leave the house to add this to your romance arsenal. Keep some oil in a small glass tub in your night stand. It will probably stay solid, but it melts at skin temperature which makes it perfect for doing the deed. If you have skin safe essential oils you can even stir some into the mix. I’ve added a tidge of black pepper and a blend called sensation that is seductively floral to mine.

Thanks to all of these lovely tips, we more often than not celebrate special occasions at home. You probably won’t find us out on the town for New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s. Sometimes we go out on our anniversary, sometimes not. Either way, it’s great to have special things on hand to keep the romance going at home, regardless of the day.